Fitness Program

Friday, 18th March 2011   (3.4km) wambanna campus to the rock and back.

Time- 14:13 secs

  This was our first run of the camp. We were expected to run from the
  I started the run off strongly and felt really good off the blocks. Once I had maintained a strong lead on the others I started to pace my self. It wasn't only until I was half way through running back was it till I started to feel it in my chest and my legs. And once I had arrived back I was struggling to breath and I went underneath the cold shower. This helped me a bit.

  Some of the things that really helped me through the run was the thought and the motivation of getting fit ready for the footy season.

  Some of the things that I told my self that I would do in the next run is to run alongside the pack for the run instead of giving my self a big lead and running by my self for the run. I believe that in doing this I will be able to have a chat with the others and this will get my mind off running and in result make me less tired.

Saturday, 19th March 2011   (5.5km) wambanna campus to the end of the jetty and back

Time- 23:20 secs

  Today's run I wasn't really thinking about what I would do to improve my run but one of my tactics I did change to hopefully get my mind off things which would in then result in me feeling less tired. I took this tactic in to the place and stayed out the front with the front pack until half way where I took off and gave my self a bigger lead. I then maintained my pace and finished strongly. Once I had finished I struggled to breath and was boiling hot. So I took a quick shower. This immediately made me feel much better. Once thing I had noticed which had changed during my runs was that my legs were now becoming stronger and they weren't as painful as they have been in previous runs.

Sunday, 20th March 2011   (3.4km) wambanna campus to the rock and back.

Time- 13:51 secs

During today's run I gave my self in using the tactics of just running and just forgetting about how long the run was. I felt that this had really helped me and I just ran. I lead the whole way to the end and I felt amazing. Although when I finally reached the last 100m mark I was starting to burn in the legs. But it really showed that I wasn't exactly in prime condition to do the 3.4km but instead of taking it as "I'm not fit" I took it more as a motivation that I need to get fitter. I believe the best way to improve is to not reflect on the negative sides of things but use the negative things and use them as motivation to get better. At the end of the run I couldn't stand up but it told me that I'm really pushing my self and I'm improving. This is also shown in the difference between my times. This made me happy.

Monday, 21st March 2011   Games

Today was a bit of  recovery session for us after 3 long runs in the previous day. During the games session we played a big of dodge ball and did some relays. This was easy on my muscles and really gave me a good rest ready for the next day.

Tuesday, 22nd March 2011   (5.5km) wambanna campus to the end of the jetty and back

Time- 22:14cs

 This run session I went in like the previous session not thinking about how long we have to run and just get out there and run. This worked for me and I stayed in a pack of 4 which was the leading pack alongside Jack Daly, Ned Murdoch and Olly Collison. As a group we stayed tight all the way to the half way mark which was the jetty. From there me a Ned broke off from the the other two and started racing off. We got quiet a huge lead on them and it was only until the 3 quarter way mark was when I took off from Ned. I pushed my self and was feeling the pain. I was really glad that I had Ned to push me along. It also felt good to have some competition to get me across the line. In the end I beat Ned by around 10 seconds. Fut her behind Olly and Jack who were with us for most of the journey finished up a further 3 minutes behind us. But for me in the end it wasn't about the competition. I was thrilled about beating my previous time by a whole 1 minute and 10 seconds. I was very pleased with my self. And I believed I was getting fitter. I am really looking forward to the few more runs which are slightly longer in the near future. I am sure they will test me physically.

Wednesday, 23rd March 2011- Leadership day. No tranning

Thrsday, 24th March 2011   (9.2km) run around the block

Time- 49.55secs

  Todays run everyone went into the run feeling uneasy abour running 9.2km. Going into the run I dont think anyone had ever run 9 km. On my own personal account on going into the 9kms I just went into the run having the mind set of just running. This worked for me and while I was running I only foucused on slowing my beathing rate. This really helped me as it helped my fatigue.

  For the first part of the run we were expected to run as a group for 5.5km untill we reached the beach. This was very easy running as a group for we werent going very fast because we had to wait for the boys at the back to keep up. It was only untill we reached the 5.5km mark was it when we could break off and run the last 3.7km at our own pace. When it was finaly time to break off I took off and lead all the way back. It was very painful but I pushed through and hopefully it has developed me physically and mentally.

Friday, 25th March 2011   Beach walk

Todays Session was a recovery session from our 9.2km run. I belive compared to most of the other boys I pulled up ok. Not too sore not too tired. In the Beach walk I really tried to lossen my muscles and just relax. Walking on the beach was veryrelaxing with the wind in your face and the soft surfface of the sand really felt  good. I hope it helped me with my recovery and I hope I do even better in future runs.

Saturday, 26th March 2011- Leadership day. No traning

Sunday, 27th March 2011 (5.5km) wambanna campus to the end of the jetty and back

Time- 26:30 secs

  Todays session was very unusual for me considering I hadn't ran in the past few days. Before the race I had some mental thoughts that it would be difficult for me consideing I hadnt been keeping up my running cycle.

  I started the race on the wrong foot by giving my self negetive thoughts all through out the run. Although I kept up with the leading pack till the half way mark. Then like always I took off. But this time one of the staff at scotts creek who had previously the day before came and checked out the wambana campus was running alongside with us. When we turned around at the jetty I thought I could just take off but he was right behind me. His fitness was unbelivable so I pushed my self and pushed my self to try and keep up with him. We were quiet ahead of everyone else untill I saw Lachy pye sprinting around the corner. Soon later he caught up with us and was around 20m behind. These positions stayed till we were 70m to go. Simon who was neck and neck with me the whole race took off and lachy was starting his sprint too. Due to Simon pushing me so hard I couldnt take it so I stoped. Soon later Lachy sprinted past me so I took off again in a sprint. I really pushed my self to beat him. But when I finally got in front of him with around 40m to go my body started feeling the pain and I colapsed to the ground grasping in air. I was trying to vomit but I had nothing to vomit up. This was a really hard experience for me but I was very posetive about it. I knew that even though I didnt completly finish the race, I really pushed my self to the limit.

Monday, 28th March 2011 Power Traning

 Today was my first power traning. I was really looking foward today so that I could learn some of the drills that I could take home with me.

  Before the start of the traning I was expecting the drills to be easy but when we acctualy did the program I could really feel the burn. One of the mind sets that I put my self through, thoughout the excerises is to really push my self.

  The first drill we did was some different types of pushups to work our uper body strength. I really enjoyed these drills and I could really feel the burn from all the pushups.

  Our next drill was some different team acctivities on the chin up bars. Like the push ups I enjoyed this to and really tried to do my best.

  After the session I was really starting to fatigue. But I was very happy with my self because I really tried to push my self. And when there was a set amount on how many pushups or situps we had to do. I always tried to do more.

Tuesday, 29th March 2011 (3.4km) wambanna campus to the rock and back.

Time- 13:22 secs

Today was by far the hardest running session I had ever been through. It wasnt because the running track was difficult, but it was because I pushed my hardest. One of the motivations I had during this run was to beat my old personal best, so I went out hard at the start and kept a constant pace for the rest of the run.

  Half way through the run I was around 20 meters ahead of everyone else and felt like I had a bit left inside of me, so I took off again and I didnt look back. In the end I ended up winning by 30 seconds. It was very pleasing, although I was stuffed at the end and struggled to stand up.

  Another pleasing thing about the run was that my old personal best for the 3km not the 3.4km was 14 minutes in year 8. Now one year later I am running 13.22 minutes and adding and extra 400m. This was very pleasing and I will try to use this motivation in future runs which I hope to do my best.


Wednesday, 30th March 2011 (5.5km) wambanna campus to the end of the jetty and back, (team Session)

Time- 25:13 secs

  Todays fitness session was dediated to try to improve our team work and try to push others who are slightly slower to push harder. We were splitted into 2 teams. A fast team and a slow team. In both teams there was around 7 people. In my team there was, me, Jake, Henry, Daly, Lachy, Ned, Chris and Vince. The slower team started 4 minutes before us and our aim was to try to beat them as a group.

  We started the run at a constant run. Not to fast, not to slow. we kept at a strong constant pace the whole way untill the we got near the jetty. That was when we saw the other group. This really lifted our spirits and we took off in the hope of getting closer to them. They were around 400m ahead. We thought we were really in for a chance.

  Once we had turned around at the jetty we went back to our normal pace. The other group could clearly see us and we could see them picking up the pace. At around this stage my muscles were starting to burn.Strangley enough I found it much harder going at a slower pace while running in a group compared to running at my own pace.

  With around 200m to go we were extremly close to them. We felt our chances rise and we took off in a sprint. While at the same time they took off at a sprint as well. With around 50m to go other members in my group started feeling the pain and couldnt take the pain any more and stoped. This effected our whole group because it was a group acctivity and if he stoped we had to stop. This made me slightly disapointed considering how hard we ran. But in the end I was glad that we made it to the end and everyone really showed what they able to do as a group even when they are exahusted.

Thursday, 31st march 2011- Beach walk

  Today was one of the days in which I was not really looking foward to. This was because of all the hard work we had been putting into our running over the past few days now lead to a walk. Which was disappointing because I really just wanted to continue with my running.

  The walk was very easy and was fairly good and relaxing on my muscles even though they weren't very sore. Although the walk was very refreshing as well with the cool winds coming from the ocean and the rising sun really brought up the atmosphere.

Friday, 1st April 2011- Leadership day. No traning

Saturday, 2nd April 2011 (5.5km) wambanna campus to the end of the jetty and back

Time- 20.50 secs
Today was the last 5.5km run we were doing for the rest of the camp. I was really looking foward to this run and I really prepared my self to do the best I could.

  I started the run as hard as I could getting in front of everyone by a fair bit. This got me into a good rhythem and I continued to run at a stong pace for the whole race. I felt very overwhelmed because everytime I looked over my shoulder I could see that I was getting further and further infront of everyone. At the last straight I looked down at my watch and saw that I had 1 minute to get under the 21 minute mark so I took off leaving all regrets behind. When I finally arrived back at the shed I was stoked when I got my time. I had beaten my previous time by around 1 minute. I was very glad and it told me that my previous runs prior to the 5.5km run had really payed off. I was also very excited in knowing that our next run was to be the 11km run. I knew I was ready for it.

Sunday, 3rd April 2011- Beach walk

Todays beach walk I used to really get over some of my sore muscles from yesterdays 5.5. While walking I was really trying to strech and get rid of all the pain in my legs while at the same time thinking about the next days 11km. I was feeling very nervous at the thought of the 11km run but at the same time confident.

Monday 4th April 2011- (11km) Hardwick bay to Wambana campus

Time- 50:13 secs

  Today was one of the sessions in which I had been preparing for for the whole camp. Every run and strength building excersise had been leading into this run. This run was to test our mental, physical and endurance abilities.

  Going into the run I have never felt so excited. In the morning I got up and tried preparing for the run as much as I could. I was really trying to stop my self from thinking about all the negetive aspects of the run. Such as the fact that I had never ran 11km before and the fact that I hadn't really ran on sand for a long distance. Even though these thooughts were going through my head, I tried to block them out as much as I could.

  Before the run I tried not to eat anything as advised by Dale and just go into the run with some sort of tactics. I ended up not taking up his advice on coming up with a tactic during the run and I ended up just running like I had throughout all the previous runs.

  When we arrived at hardwick bay everyne broke out into streches while I just went up about not thinking about anything in particular but just getting my mind off the run. When we were finally told to get ready to begin the race my nerves started kicking in and I started doubting my self if I could complete the run or not. This ultimatly impacted me negetivly but I tried not think about anything else.

  Once we were told to start I took off at my own pace getting quit ahead of the rest of the runners. At first my reactions to running on the sand was, "what is this? What am I doing?" I noticed that running on the sand was much more difficult then running on road because it was much softer. At first I was really stuggling but I stayed ahead not worrying about how far I still had to go. One thing I found easier while running on the sand was to try and find the harder parts of the sand.This gave me more grip and made me less fatigued while running at a strong pace.

Once we had been running for around 15 minutes and I was around at the 3km mark I thought it would be a good idea to cut accross and start running right along the water front. Previously I had been running on the soft sand right up next to the edge of the beach. This worked well for me but as soon as I saw the low tide I just couldnt help my self so I ran right across next to the water. At this time I was around 100m in front of everyone else so I thought even if this does effect my time I still have a big ebnough lead on the others. This was by far the biggest mistake I had ever made. And if I were to run the 11km again I would not run right next to the water. By the time I had reached the water the other behind me had caught right up next to me. Even though they hadn't followed my same route I could see them running right alongside me around 60m to the left of me. This made me start to think how much time I had wasted trying to get alongside the beach. Although I kept on running. While I was running along the water I notcied lots of puddles right in front of me. I didnt worry at first because they didnt look very deep. It was only untill I reached these puddles was it till I noticed how deep they were. One of the options I had to try to avoid these puddles was to run around them but Then I relised how big these puddles were so I knew if I ran around them I would lose too much time so I ran straight through them. These puddles in the middle were around to my knees. This was so difficult running through these puddles because when I came our of them I relised that my shoes were drenched. This then made my legs more tired because I had to carry more weight on my feet. This was a real setback for me but I kept on going.

  Running the 11km you needed to be very mentaly tough because everytime tyou look up it doesnt look like you've made progress so you keep telling your self to stop. This happened to me many times and a few times I gave in started to walk. I knew I shouldn't of but I did. I just didn't feel like running anymore and I could see that the pair in front of me, Lachy and Ned who were running along the edge of the beach had improved their lead on me.

  It was untill around 5km to go that I really started to take off. I stoped worrying about the horrible surface I was running on and the big puddles and really gave it my all. When I could clearly see the finish line I picked up my pace even more and I could even see Lachy and Ned who were now behind me. This was a real spirit boost. By now the puddles started becoming even deeped and bigger but it didnt stop me, I was on a roll. with around 400m behind I knew I was going to win and I was really happy with my self. I finished strongly and I was really happy with my self. After I had recoverd, I went out and supported others.

 Refelecting back on the run, our fitness program really prepared us for it. And I am greatful to how much effort I put into all the previous runs. I am really happy with my reult, although I knew that if I hadnt made the mistake of running along the water front I could of done better although running it today made it a bit of a challenge.

  When I get home from Wambana I hope to contiune with this fitness progrm and hopefully become mentaly and physically stronger.